It all started with a car wash system. An IPA department was just working on optimizing this system when a request came from the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology asking whether the institute could deal with cleanroom technology. That was 30 years ago, when the golden age of home computers…

30 years ago, the IPA first dealt with cleanroom technology. How did it start, Mr. Gommel?

Before the department focused on cleanliness technology, it was a general store. It did all sorts of things, such as manufacturing microfluids or optimizing a car wash. Then, a request came from the Federal Min…

The first PCs, which appeared on the market in the early 1980s, were bulky suitcases that offered little comfort. Today, every smartwatch on the wrist provides multiples of these dinosaurs. Miniaturization has reached a level that no one could have dreamed of a decade ago. A transistor on an integra…

With the Future Work Lab, the Fraunhofer Institutes IAO and IPA are opening a center that will let visitors experience the future of manufacturing. The center will offer tangible demonstrators, expertise development and training programs as well as a platform for scientific exchange, and targets ind…

- 13 exhibits displayed at four trade fair booths in three halls
- Focus on an IT platform for processing near real-time production data
- The workplace, automation and IT infrastructure form a thematic framework
- Presenting the »Flexible sheet metal processing lab« as part of the TRUMPF cooperation

In l…

30 years ago, the Stuttgart Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation IPA set purity technology on its agenda. Since then, its commitment in this field has steadily grown. Today, it is one of the leading institutions worldwide. It not only has the largest test cleanroom of ISO Cl…

Components used in a space mission must be meticulously cleaned. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation IPA have designed a cleanroom, in which even contaminants at the nanometer level can be removed. Together with partners, the experts clean and sterilize…

Purity is of utmost importance in the medical technology industry. For example, if a dental or hip implant is excessively contaminated, it can interfere with the integration with the bone. How clean the products actually need to be has so far often remained unclear. The Fraunhofer IPA, together with…

Consumables such as special clothing, gloves, cleaning cloths, or packaging films are essential in cleanrooms. However, there are currently no uniform international regulations on how manufacturers test and label their products regarding cleanroom suitability. Led by the Fraunhofer IPA, the industry…

For customers with extremely high cleanliness requirements, such as in medical engineering, aerospace and the manufacture of process devices for the semiconductor industry, Fraunhofer IPA offers integrated, reproducible, cleaning solutions that can be fully validated. The spectrum of cleaning techno…